The present invention relates to a capsule for preparing drinks of the type containing a powdered substance which, when a liquid (such as hot water) passes through it, produces the drink.
In particular the present invention is intended for the coffee preparation sector. Therefore, although it shall be understood that the present invention is applicable for preparing any drink (using a specific powder contained in the capsule and a specific liquid injected through the powder) the following description refers mainly to coffee, where the powder contained in the capsule is coffee powder and the liquid used is hot water (more or less pressurised depending on the type of coffee to be obtained—espresso, filter coffee, cream coffee).
At present there are many prior art types of capsules for preparing coffee. For example, those described in patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,202 and EP 1 344 722.
In general, most capsules have a container element with a lateral wall (in many cases having the shape of a truncated cone) joined and/or connected to a base wall and an upper wall.
In practice, the hot water is injected into the capsule through the upper wall, whilst the drink obtained flows out through the base wall (however, in some cases this operation is inverted, or the lateral wall is pierced). For this reasons, both the base wall and the upper wall have suitable openings which can be made either during the capsule production step, or at the moment when the capsule is used.